


have you ever seen the rain

by rangerhitomi



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Coffee date, Gen, M/M, Pre-Canon, birthday gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:19:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mizael is having a really, really crappy day and that annoying short Barian with the silver hair and deep, reassuring voice won’t let him mope in peace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	have you ever seen the rain

It always seemed to be raining in the Barian World.

Mizael sat at the bottom of the winding stone staircase leading to the Barian Palace and folded his arms across his chest, letting the unnaturally hot rain pour over his body. He glared at the ground as if it were the thing responsible for his day being terrible.

Well, in a way, it was part of the problem.

“I don’t think sitting in the rain is good for you.”

Startled, Mizael glanced up into a pair of only somewhat familiar grey-blue eyes. Durbe pulled his plain cloak closer to his body as he watched Mizael curiously.

“Why does it matter? You don’t  _have_  to be out here with me.”

Durbe’s eyes flickered upward. “The rain isn’t normal,” he said, half to himself, holding one hand out as the other maintained a tight grip on his cloak. The rain steamed as it hit his fingers, leaving behind small red blotches.

Mizael’s brows furrowed but before he could say anything, Durbe returned his gaze to Mizael. “Is there a reason you’re here and not inside, out of the rain?”

“Is there a reason you care?”

“I’m simply concerned for my friends’ health.”

“I wasn’t aware we  _were_  friends, Durbe.”

A short pause accompanied these harsh words. To Mizael’s surprise, his fellow Barian didn’t look upset, annoyed, or even hurt by these words. Durbe tilted his head ever so slightly at the blond and blinked against the rain finding its way into his hood. Contemplative. Calm. Now that he thought on it, Mizael wasn’t sure he had ever seen the young Barian angry, nor had he ever heard him say a bad word about anyone else.

“I don’t think this rain is good for you,” Durbe repeated after a moment. “You should find another place to avoid Vector.”

Mizael’s shoulders tensed as he turned his head from Durbe. So he knew what Vector had been doing all day, did he? He found himself unconsciously rubbing his knees that had scraped against the ground when Vector thought it would be funny to coat the last stair in oil. And there was that lingering pain from Vector tugging his hair like a human child would.

“What makes you say…?”

Durbe shrugged. “He did the same thing to me last week. He’s a very straightforward person in that regard. In my case, I was trying to have a conversation with Alit and I ended up sprawled all over the ground.”

A twitch of an eyebrow was all Mizael allowed himself outwardly, but he couldn’t help but wonder what that scene might have looked like. The thought of calm, stoic, void-of-any-real-personality-Durbe facedown on the rocks was one of the more amusing things he could have pictured.

He managed to compose himself with what he considered to be admirable indifference. “Why are you here, really? And don’t say that the rain’s not healthy, Durbe,” he added warningly as Durbe glanced up at the swirling red clouds.

“I wanted to talk with you.”

“Why?”

“Because someday we’re going to need to be there for each other to save our world.”

A low rumble echoed through the clouds as lightning forked across the sky. Maybe Durbe was right; it was probably time to get out of the rain.

“What do you mean, ‘to save our world’?”

Durbe held out a hand. “Will you let me show you?”

Mizael’s eyes darted to the slender hand, watched as each drop of rain hissed in a puff of steam as it touched his skin, “Where are you planning on taking me?” He reached for Durbe’s hand, slowly, very slowly. He didn’t know what compelled him to do so. It just felt like the right thing to do, to trust this Barian he barely knew.

“To the human world,” Durbe said simply.

“Why…?”

Durbe grasped his hand and Mizael winced as the hot rain, churning red sky, and rocky ground disappeared, replaced by the seemingly endless void that was the pathway between worlds. They floated along in silence for the entire short journey; Durbe seemed lost in thought, oddly distracted.

He never let go of Mizael’s hand.

* * *

 

When they emerged into the bright sunlight, under a perfectly clear blue sky, Mizael winced as he shielded his eyes from the light with a fragile human hand. As his vision adjusted to the dramatic change in light intensity, he caught what he realized was his first glimpse of Durbe in his human form.

It wasn’t quite what Mizael would have envisioned, had he given much thought to what Durbe might have looked like as a human. He was already a small Barian - at least to Mizael, who considered himself well above average height - but the vest, scarf, and glasses made Durbe seem more like he would fit right in at a human coffee shop, maybe writing a novel or doing schoolwork.

“What is it you wanted to show me?” Mizael said impatiently. The sun was hurting his eyes. He had gone so long in the red light of his world that this white light was positively agonizing.

Durbe held out his arms as he raised his head to the sky. He closed his eyes, a look of soft contentment enveloping his face. “This.”

It took Mizael a moment to grasp what Durbe had said, but when he did, he felt a stab of irritation. “You dragged me into the human world to show me the sun? You’re unbelievable.”

With a slight smile, Durbe turned back to Mizael. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

Wonderful was not even on the same spectrum of words Mizael would have chosen to describe this situation, but he didn’t have a chance to tell Durbe so before the other Barian walked into a small café down a side street. With a mumbled oath of annoyance, Mizael followed.

A bell above the door made a soft tinkling sound as he pushed his way in. Ignoring the barista’s greeting, he threw himself into a chair across from where Durbe had settled.

“Why in the world did you need to speak to me here?” Mizael hissed as Durbe played idly with the creamer. “To drink coffee?”

“Mostly to get away from Vector,” Durbe mused. “He told me he wanted to braid your hair today and I thought you might want to avoid that. Ah, thank you.”

The barista set two cups down in front of them, and Mizael looked down at the steaming cup of brown liquid. He grimaced at the smell, but Durbe inhaled his enthusiastically, a warm smile lighting his face. It was bizarre, Mizael thought in bewilderment, how this emotionless Barian who spent all his time reading had such an expressive human face.

“Why?”

“Why, why, why. Is that the only word you know?” Durbe stirred some creamer into his coffee and took a sip. “You should drink up. It’s not very good when it’s cold.”

Mizael scowled and picked up the cup, glaring at it for a moment before taking a sip. He immediately spat it back into the cup and made a face. “That was disgusting.”

“Not so loud, Mizael, you might upset the barista.” Durbe watched Mizael push the cup away, grimacing, and took another sip of his own coffee. “Try some sugar.”

“Absolutely not. Now explain why I’m here.”

Durbe set his cup down and gazed at the far wall. “Have you ever seen it rain in the human world?”

The utter absurdity of this question took Mizael aback. What could Durbe possibly be playing at? Taking him to the human world to drink some vile brown liquid while talking about the  _weather_?

“If you don’t get to the point in the next thirty seconds, I’m leaving.”

Durbe leaned forward, his pleasant expression fading to something much more characteristic of him - stoic, serious, and utterly humorless. “The rain in the human world is cool. Cleansing. It can be destructive, but it is necessary for life. Crops, livestock, humans. They all need water to survive.”

“Fifteen seconds.”

“You sat in the rain in our world. It does not give life. It destroys. But it was not always that way. This is a recent phenomenon. Have you noticed it?”

Truthfully, yes, Mizael realized. The rain had been getting warmer over the past few years, and now it steamed on impact. It even had… an almost acidic feel to it on the skin. “What are you getting at with this? That our world is… being destroyed?”

“Yes.”

Every minute he spent sitting across from the small Barian with the glasses and silver hair was a surprising one. He had seen two sides of Durbe, seamlessly switching from one to the other. And he could sit there, looking for all the world like a human school student in his ridiculous clothes but carry the aura of a natural leader.

And Mizael found his disdain for this Barian melt as they stared each other in the eyes.

“What’s causing it?”

Durbe picked up his cup again and took another sip. “Something has upset the balance between our world and the Astral World. We must find it and put an end to it, lest our world be utterly destroyed.”

“That's optimistic.”

“I’m being realistic.”

Mizael put his hand to his cup before remembering that the coffee tasted vile and pulled his hand away. “What do you want to do about it?”

“I… don’t know. But…” Durbe licked his lips as he pulled a small, thin box from his vest. “Can I ask for your help?”

He held the box out to Mizael, who eyed it warily. “What is it?”

“A gift.” A small smile flitted across his face. “Vector was going on about it being your birthday.”

Mizael rolled his eyes. “Vector is spouting the same lies as always. I don’t even know when my birthday is.” But he took the box anyway.

Inside was a simply crafted, golden ornament. He pulled it out of the box and held it up, where it glistened in the artificial light as it dangled from his fingers. “It’s…” He couldn’t find a word. Durbe’s face looked suddenly anxious, biting his lip as he watched Mizael.

“Do you dislike it?”

Mizael held it out to him. “Help me put it on. I will treasure it.”

The anxiety slid from Durbe’s face, replaced by the first expression of joy Mizael had ever seen on his face. He took the ornament and scooted his chair closer to Mizael. With gentle fingers, he took several strands of Mizael’s hair and clipped the ornament in place.

They sat in silence for a moment, Durbe finishing his coffee and Mizael running his fingers over the surprisingly light ornament.

“Durbe.”

“Mmm?”

“Did you say Vector wanted to braid my hair?”

Durbe smiled and glanced at the dregs in his cup. “That’s why he was pulling it earlier.”

Mizael made a face.

“Well, we should head back. Maybe Vector’s found someone else’s hair to braid.” He pushed his chair back and stood.

“Durbe, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“You said that we’d have to be there for one another to save our world.”

“I did.”

“I will.”

Durbe paused in pushing in his chair. “What?”

Mizael stood close to him, ignoring the barista’s curiously raised eyebrow. “I will be there for you when that time comes.”

It was strange, what difference an hour made in his opinion of Durbe.

“Thank you,” Durbe whispered as they left the coffee shop. “That means a lot to me, Mizael.”


End file.
